Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Get Fixed

My new goal is to try not to think too much when I post here. Because when I do that, I tend to get all preachy and condescending and stuff. I'm probably better off just letting half-formed thoughts slither out like afterbirth out of Octomom and see what happens. At least that way I won't be taking a month off between posts.

So let's talk about fixed gears for a moment. I've got one. I've got two, actually—an old Bianchi Pista that looks like it got trampled by a herd of angry wildebeest, and a new-ish Mercier Kilo TT that I bought off of Bikesdirect when I realized it was a cheaper option than buying a new fork and wheelset for the Pista. Of course I hadn't counted on the inevitable desire to upgrade, but c'est la vie.

BMX companies have been dipping their beaks into the fixed-gear market for a while now—FBM makes the Sword, Volume sells the Cutter and the Creedence, Profile makes parts and SNAFU picks them out of a catalog. In fact, Volume, FBM and Profile all have separate sites for their fixed clientele. Guess the fixed-gear guys don't want to even acidentally look at some stupid kid's bike.

Well, now Subrosa has seen fit to enter the fray with their own fixed gear, the Malum Fixed, due out in July:

And then there's SE Racing, already churning out as many no-budget Drafts as the market can bear (or that you can stuff into a shipping container), aiming more upscale with a super-limited DC Shoes collabo PK Ripper Fixed (self promotion, holla).

To be honest, the Malum looks really cool. Can't say I'd want all that Shadow stuff—I'd get rid of that chain before I even bolted the front wheel on—but all in all, it looks like a nice bike. The SE is aimed more at the sneaker-obsessed downtown crowd, so of the 2,500 they're making, roughly a dozen will actually be ridden. Still curious to see a real photo. It might kill Perry Kramer, though. Unless he's getting royalties.

I suppose as long as "fixed-gear freestyle" keeps going, BMX companies will try to get a piece of that market. And who can blame them? Price points start higher, and the labor and material costs are more or less the same (insert JPR correction here). Make that money. Although I might think differently when someone orders a 700c STA.

making a complete fixie marketed towards the hipster and/or bmx kid is about as smart as applying for a job at General Motors right now. If anybody from said crowd wants a fixie they are going to do what all their 'cool' friends do and search craigslist or go dumpster diving for an old pujo or fuji and convert it over. 'Vintage' is the new black.

If you want to ride a fixie, go for it. more power to ya! I think these bikes look pretty cool to be honest. The freestyle fixie thing is stupid, but the bikes them selves are cool. But if you start dressing a different way to emulate another persons "fixie style", then you are a fucking posing loser.

This whole movement and "fashion" can be directly linked to bike messengers in NYC. And good for them! They have their own world, which WAS unique. They did it first. It was their "style" and the bikes were designed to be minimulist for logical reasons.

But now since the fixie/hipster/Urban Outfitters movement has taken the country by storm I find it down right hilarious to see these want-to-be hipster idiots starving for some sort of social network validity. Want-to-be bike messengers riding down Ventura blvd w/ a messenger bag, capri pants and make believe registration tags in their spokes. haha. Try harder you fucking idiots. No one can tell you're not a real messenger. Especially in the San Fernando Valley where there are NO FUCKING BIKE MESSENGERS.

I'm going to take it all one step further and dress up like a Mailman and just act the part, to be cool. yea. I may even turn a jeep into a make-believe mail truck.

I cant wait for this stupid fucking fashion trend to go out of style. Ride a bike, but dont put a costume on before you leave the house.

I have to agree with Jesus on the second part of his statement, in that, how the fuck are bmx kids gonna be able to afford a new fixie when every week they're buying the latest limited color matching shoes/seats/hats, etc?!?

It doesn't really make sense to me as to why they're selling them, but it's totally cool with me that they're making them. My guess is that the riders/employees at those companies either already rode, or wanted one, so they just started making them because they have the capability. And shit, if I was an aging hipster/washed up bmxer, getting a bmx-branded fixie would fit right in next to my Mercedes. :)

Anyone care to inform me on a legitimate benefit to riding a fixed gear over a single speed with brakes? Seems much more unsafe and a way bigger hassle since you can't coast and actually enjoy a bike ride. I don't know though, I've never been on a fixie before.

I think riding a fixed is LESS work, actually. You can fly up hills in a gear you wouldn't even consider being in on a conventional road bike, and it's pretty easy to just relax your legs and let the pedals keep spinnin' when you get tired.

Fixed gear freestyle is awful, though. Like drag racing in a Prius. You can do it, sure...but why would you want to?

* Fixed gears are fun to ride - going fast on anything is fun - but the related material culture is incredibly dumb.

* "Urban assault" (RAAAWRR!)mountain biking died off pretty quickly, and fixed gear freestyle will suffer the same fate. And why don't those dudes just get Volume Sledgehammers and put cogs and skinnier tires on them?

* They couldn't call it the PK Fixster?

* Do people actually do this shit in real life? http://velocouture.wordpress.com/

MISSION STATEMENT

In a world where every new BMX "innovation" is met at best with praise and at worst with a shrug, there needs to be a voice of dissent. SPRFLS is that voice. Make no mistake—we welcome progress, provided it actually IS progress. You are not the width of your handlebars.

Feel free to e-mail suggestions, corrections, tips or death threats to sprfls@gmail.com

Even more pointless (and sometimes entirely un-BMX-related) twittering at http://twitter.com/SPRFLS and http://twitter.com/russbengtson